July highs

If you think it can’t get much hotter than it’s been in the past week, you’re right.

While Monday’s high temperature at the University of Northern Colorado cooled to a mere 98 degrees, five of the first seven days of the month topped 100 degrees. The five days were consecutive – July 2-6 – which tied a 69-year-old mark but fell three days short of the all-time mark of eight consecutive 100-degree days, July 3-10, 1936. Three of those days set record highs for the dates.

Glen Cobb, who taught meteorology at UNC for almost 30 years and who continues to keep records at the university, said July 1936 holds a dubious record that July 2003 might threaten – 18 days of high temperatures of 100 degrees or higher, including the two hottest days on record, 107 degrees on July 22 and 23.

After the eight days of consecutive 100-degree days, 1936 had two other strings of five consecutive days with temperatures of 100 degrees or higher.

Until this year, only 1936 and another Dust Bowl year – 1934 – have had five consecutive days of highs above the century mark.

That has put a strain on lawns, but despite the high temperatures, Greeley residents are using less water this year than in 2000, the benchmark used by city of Greeley water officials. The city uses a weather station in west Greeley to measure temperature.

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That station revealed the July 1-6 average high in Greeley was 98.5 degrees this year, compared to 92.4 degrees for the same period in 2000, yet the city used an average of nearly 6 million gallons less water this year over the first week of the month.

“That shows that residents are doing a really good job of conserving water,” said Todd Williams, a city water resource engineer.

Next week, the Greeley City Council will decide whether to extend hours of the two-days-a-week watering schedule by three hours each day. Currently, no watering is allowed during those days between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The council will consider changing that to between noon and 5 p.m.

The heat of the first week of this month has resulted in some dry, brown spots in lawns.

Laura Bott at Highland Nursery said those dry spots with be treated with a lawn decomposer.

“It acts like a fertilizer, but isn’t. It’s all organic, so it won’t burn your lawn,” Bott said. It decomposes the dead grass and puts nutrients back into the soil while allowing the soil to better hold moisture.

“We’ve been moving a lot of it and have another shipment coming in,” she said.

The heat has meant good business for the Greeley Furnace Co., Barb Hays said.

“You would not believe the calls we’ve been getting in the past week,” she said. The calls have been for both servicing of air conditioning units or people wanting to have them installed in their homes.

“And everybody wants it yesterday,” Hays said.

The cool front that moved into the region Monday dropped the temperature below 100 degrees, but warmer weather is expected the remainder of the week. That worries Cobb.